So drummers...how is Bram ?

[U2girl]

Now that the opening night audio/video surfaced...how do you rate him ? Is he sticking to studio/Larry parts or is he adding his own touch to the songs?
I only heard Zoo station, which sounded pretty.by.the book. Desire sounds a tad different.

 

[The_acrobat]

I'm a guitarist, not a drummer, but I've played in bands for 20+ years with a few different drummers. I have listened to most of the songs from last night by this point. I would say that Bram does a very good job of mimicking Larry and sticking true to the source material. He definitely hits the drums harder than Larry does; you can really see this during some of the more intense moments like the end of The Fly or UTEOTW. WGRYWH seems to be the song he's most going off-script and taking a few liberties of his own. Throwing in little fills that Larry would never do, which kind of makes it sound like a cover band.

But overall I'd say he's done a good job and will be a good fit for these shows. He seems like a really nice guy too, and his personal tribute to Larry was a nice touch.

 

[DaveC]

He definitely hits the drums harder than Larry does; you can really see this during some of the more intense moments like the end of The Fly or UTEOTW.

that was something i really noticed on the live stream - bram hits the drums like john bonham.

 

[Sicy]

Now that the opening night audio/video surfaced...how do you rate him ? Is he sticking to studio/Larry parts or is he adding his own touch to the songs?
I only heard Zoo station, which sounded pretty.by.the book. Desire sounds a tad different.

U2Girl!

 

[gvox]

He's a talented drummer, no doubt. He can hit things for a living for sure.

Having said that, I did notice pretty much one or two things in every song that were different. Sometimes less than what I wanted to hear. Sometimes more - the_acrobat mentioned the snare fills on Wild Horses, definitely heard that.

I think the biggest thing for me is that I always feel like Larry is firmly in the driver's seat when he's there. Bram is definitely not that guy so far, but that's likely nerves/newness/whatever. You'll see Adam give him the cues many times. Bono as well. This is not a criticism per se, it's just different from Larry. I always feel like Larry and Bono have this connection for cues and that isn't the same here now.

But he'll develop as they go along, surely.

 

[womanfish]

I saw a video tonight, just a short 45 second clip, but it was all official footage, it was clear to see (the video release of this is going to be phenomenal) The sound was out of this world, and the drums on Zoo Station were thunderous.

From all the cell phone stuff I've seen. He is killing it really. The only difference I noticed was it seemed like he was a little more cymbal heavy. That may be the fact that cellphone audio will probably pick up more highs and lose the lows, But either way, he is doing a great job IMO.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

god i'll probably get shit on for this but here we go.

Bram brought a youthful energy and enthusiasm (and i'm calling him youthful because we're the same age and it makes me feel better) to the band and music that has been lacking.

there, i said it.

 

[mikal]

god i'll probably get shit on for this but here we go.

Bram brought a youthful energy and enthusiasm (and i'm calling him youthful because we're the same age and it makes me feel better) to the band and music that has been lacking.

there, i said it.

That’s it. You’re banned.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

damn it

 

[DeVaul]

god i'll probably get shit on for this but here we go.

Bram brought a youthful energy and enthusiasm (and i'm calling him youthful because we're the same age and it makes me feel better) to the band and music that has been lacking.

There, i said it.

 

[womanfish]

god i'll probably get shit on for this but here we go.

Bram brought a youthful energy and enthusiasm (and i'm calling him youthful because we're the same age and it makes me feel better) to the band and music that has been lacking.

there, i said it.

I don’t disagree. I finally tracked down that clip that I mentioned above.
You can hear that energy

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx-oe5toqFT/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

[BEAL]

I'm definitely not a musician, but I've noticed over the years that Larry's live drumming seemed to become more simplistic, if that's the correct word. Songs like The Fly or Mysterious ways back in ZooTV days are played so much different, almost watered down now. I assume that's due to age and wear/tear of the body. It seems to slow down the rest of the bands playing too. It's not the worst thing, you can't expect guys this age to match what they did 30+ years ago

But listening to the live songs of the Sphere, there's definitely more energy and uptempo to the songs. I hope that inspires Edge inside the studio

 

[Hewson]

Bram is on board!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Pbeba

Also if he plays anything like John Bonham that will be enjoyable

 

[U2girl]

U2Girl!

Sicy!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I'm not a drummer or musician of any kind but now that I've seen him in person I agree that he brought a fresh sound and style to the band. I think it's obvious that Larry has been suffering physically for quite a while and putting off surgery. And part of his stoic stage demeanor and playing style has been that, part of it just his personality.

One of my jobs is front desk at a music school, the drum instructor there is a twenty something guy. He graduated from Berklee College of Music so he's got some credibility.

I asked him if he knows any U2 songs because honestly I wasn't expecting that was his thing. Right away he mentioned Larry and talked about his distinctive style. I told him about Larry's physical problems and surgery and he said well yes you've got to take care of that in terms of trying to prevent and that your drumming style is a big factor. He said that he has no idea how Travis Barker is still drumming just because of his style of drumming.

 

[TinKnight]

Bram is excellent, and gets the stamp from me if he wants to be the full time touring drummer. His play on Zoo Station is absolutely excellent, and I think he's responsible for the "twist" near the end of Ultraviolet between the baby baby babys

i'm calling him youthful because we're the same age

til headache isn't 80 years old